When did you plant it?

If this year, likely the original rootball is dry.

And by what method are you watering? I ask because 8-10 minutes isn't very long. To determine if that's long enough or not, stick a trowel into the soil How deep is it moist? Also how wide?

Beyond that, where are you watering? If it was recently planted, the water needs to applied to the top of the *original" rootball.

If it's been in the ground for a number of years, you should be watering deeply once a month or so, and all they way out to the dripline.

I had a similar experience with a 5-year old 'silver sheen' in December 2007. Last week, a second tree (planted at the same time) started exhibiting similar symptoms. The puzzling thing is that the tree literally dies within days. Is the watering schedule the problem? I live by the coast in Long Beach, CA and water 3 times a week for 3 to 5 minutes. I recently changed the watering schdule to 2 days per week for 5 to 10 minutes. I have one healthy tree left - please help!

"3 times a week for 3 to 5 minutes" isn't enough, neither is "2 days per week for 5 to 10 minutes."

To know how much, and how often to water, one must check the moisture content of the soil now and then.

First time is an hour or so after you water .. How wide And how deep did the water go? Then daily until you know how long that water will last.

Now, you have a tentative schedule which will, of courser, need to be modified according to the weather.

Beyond that, what method are you watering for "2 days per week for 5 to 10 minutes?"

If via a drip system, you can figure the output.

For instance, if the dripper -- how many do you have for the tree? -- puts out 1 gallon per hour, then 10 minutes is only 1/6 of one gallon. Precious little when it comes to keeping a tree healthy.

If output is 1/2 gallon per hour, then 1/12 gallon per dripper.

Poor tree is thirsty. Indeed, very thirsty. And the result is scorched and/or browned leaves, often a dead tree.

Thanks Jean! I deep watered my two remaining trees for one hour. Do you think they can be saved or is it too late?

Only time will tell.

I planted 3 healthy Silver Sheen about two or three months ago. All has been well until this week when I noticed the middle tree is dropping green leaves from the top of the plant about a 1/4 down from the top. There are no brown, crunchy or yellow leaves. These trees are about 8- 9 feet tall and planted about 3 feet apart. Can anyone tell me what I should do to prevent this from becoming terminal?

We are having a similar problems with our 5 year old Pittorums they in a hedge and one has died which we pulled out and instanlly the one next to it started dying?? We have had a lot of rain over winter and have also been told that there is Phytophthora in a nearby creek? Why would the next start dying only when the other has been pulled out? I am reluctant to pull out the second dead tree in case we loose all the hedge??? Help

Phytophthora is a soil borne disease, not water borne. It spreads in wet soils...and your description of lots of rain is a telling one. This disease and others like it can spread from plant to plant via underground root grafts and shared rhizosphere. Removal of a dead plant does not mean that the disease is gone.

Having gone through a couple of devasting kills involving Pittosporum, I can't help but feel more than a little anxious for you. I stopped using this plant entirely because of its susceptibility to disease.

Should just clarify that Phytophthora is considered a water mold and one of the methods of infestation is via water - either from splashing of the spores from the ground or infected plants or as run-off from an infested field into surface irrigation sources like ponds, streams, and rivers and then into groundwater and travelling into other growing/planting areas. In fact, that is one of the primary ways SOD (sudden oak death - Phytophthora ramorum) has spread so extensively.

IME, excessive watering/overly wet soils and/or poor drainage are the primary culprits in the average garden. Never lost a pitt to a root rot yet but I certainly have to cold :-)

hi I am having silver sheen , dont know its age..we are seeing it since lat one and half year, but now its started loosing leaves drasticly...we want them to have full of leaves...what to do now? want to save my plants...its urgent we are in melbourne

I was just informed there is a "cut worm" that in infesting these trees and eating the roots, I just had one die off in a matter of days.

"cut worms" are not common issues with any woody plants. These are pests that attack seedlings primarily and at ground level (not below ground). I would be very skeptical of any cut worm creating this sort of rapid decline/fatal damage to an established pitt.

There can be other organisms that can cause problems, however. A root knot nematode is thought to be responsible for widespread crop failures of pitts in southeastern climates but I am not sure how populous these creatures are in CA soils. I would be inclined to take/send a diseased/dead sample - roots and some soil intact - to your local extension office or plant pathology lab for diagnosis.

If root knot nematodes are determined to be the problem, there are biocontrols available, including applications of beneficial nematodes.

I would also not dismiss a root rot of some sort, as mentioned above. Pitts can be prone to a number of these pathogens and they are far more likely to cause that very rapid decline and death than just about any other issue.

I have 10 Silver Sheen trees planted in a row, now about 5-6 years old. One died about 6 months ago (in the middle of the row), the rest are OK, but not very bushy (quite stark in fact) - is there something I can do to help bush them up? They are about 3 metres tall.

Hi, Referring to the picture above -- This is the third time I have planned this and every time, it dies in a few months. At first I thought it was less water/more water, but now we have tried everything. It is a part of the hedge, the rest of it is more than 10 ft tall now except this and a few others. Any tips on what to do differently to save these? Thank you!

Or even if I replant new ones how do I ensure they survive. Thank you!

I've had 2 more die since my last comment in May 2016. I had weed matting over the ground under the trees and decided to remove it because weeds were growing regardless, when I removed it I found the tree roots were running under the weed matt. I threw some soil on top of the roots and the trees have bushed right up, except for the two that died.

I have a 15 year old, 30+ foot silver sheen that has developed 1/2" splits in the trunk. Leaves are still green, but also notice some black sap type oozing from the trunk. Any ideas to save from dying?

Sadly, I’ve planted a total of four and down to two and one is dying and only one is healthy. I really like the tree/bush, but I will not replant because they’re too prone to diseases.

Pittosporum 'Silver Sheen' are VERY prone to rot from over water in the summer, in particular when the nights do not cool off so the diseases in the soil continue to spread. I have lost many well established Silver Sheens because of this problem. I have I have been planting them for over 20 years, since they were first introduced. It is much better to err on the side of under watering them in the summer months as they will recover from that much more easily than over water. Keeping their 'feet' cool and shaded can help, also letting them dry out between watering. I wish I could offer hope for those who are suffering from rot, but once they start declining it is very difficult to save them.